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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389089">heartbeats of reprieve</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeless_alice/pseuds/timeless_alice'>timeless_alice</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Link (Legend of Zelda) Uses Sign Language, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sign Language, Worldbuilding, because i like the idea of revali being friends with the gang, just some friendly banter before the end of the world</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:35:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeless_alice/pseuds/timeless_alice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a moment of reprieve, Zelda, Link, and Revali talk. Eventually, Revali is asked about Rito sign language.</p><p>Basically just some worldbuilding about the Rito</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>heartbeats of reprieve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>some notes at the bottom friends (:</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moments of reprieve for the Champions stretched fewer and farther between as time went on, with every second of pause carrying with it a linger sense of dread that crawled under skin and pricked along the spine. A thought always there, lurking in the back of the mind that they should be getting ready for what was to come. The eldest among them, leaders all, insisted that the younger should take breaks to avoid burnout, or risk pushing themselves too far. Urbosa had, on occasion, confronted the king to allow his daughter these brief moments to herself, and it was Daruk's idea for them to have down time with each other. It was do the kingdom no good, dire as the circumstances were, for any one of them to collapse from the pressure put upon them.</p><p>And so Revali, Link, and Zelda had stolen away to sit in the shade of a tree overlooking a lush field far from the castle, the afternoon seeming almost mocking in how sunny it was for all the gloom that clung to them like a second shadow. Mipha, the bridging gap between the three of them and the adults, at the Zora equivalent of eighteen, had bowed out of their little meeting to talk politics with the other adults. The air was rich with their light chatter. Bow and sword and diagrams secretly crafted away from father's prying eyes lay forgotten as conversation took precedent over whatever busy work they had brought with them, though Zelda's hands mindlessly picked at the petal of a flower she had found. There was an effort, born from an unspoken agreement, to keep topics from drifting towards that ever present darkness that swirled in the pits of their stomachs with threats to overtake them, to settle in their throat to strangle speech.</p><p>The pads of Zelda's thumb and forefinger gently pulled at the soft petals, not hard enough to pull it off as she hoped to press it later, as she translated Link's signs for Revali. He was not familiar with Hylian sign, having no reason to be so in his village, though he was improving to a point where she often paused to see if he could work out what Link was saying on his own. In this case, he had almost managed to string it together, recognizing the words "Rito" and "sword" but faltering on the rest in a way that set his feathers ruffling with frustration.</p><p>As it was, Link was asking if Rito used swords in aerial combat.</p><p>"Why would we have need to use a sword," Revali replied when she had finished. His typical 'what kind of question is that' tone dripped from his words and she had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. "There's always <em>talk</em> about trying, but it always throws flight too off balance." There was a pause, and he tilted his head up to preen, palm pressing to his chest. "Not that I couldn't figure it out, of course." Eyes opened and he pat his trusty bow, perched on his lap. "But why bother, when I have this?"</p><p>Link rolled his eyes, though there was an exasperated smile quirking at his lips that Zelda was sure was mirrored on her own face. He began to reply, and she could already tell this would grow into the petty sniping the two would still get into despite having laid the hostility to rest, so she put a stop to it. There was a question nagging in her mind, anyway.</p><p>Holding up a hand, she leaned forward, the flower now resting delicately in her lap. "Revali," she said. Hands found the ground on either side of her, palms resting against grass and dirt and whatever waiting bug wanted to crawl over skin. His eyes snapped to her, head turning so they were face to face; she had yet to fully get used to the unwavering nature of his stare, despite her knowing full well that it was part of Rito physiology. "I've been meaning to ask you something."</p><p>Revali cocked his head to the side. "Oh? And what's that?"</p><p>"The Rito have their own form of sign language, don't they?"</p><p>There was a pause, Revali blinking before a small smile formed on his beak, It was full of that familiar pride that made his feathers puff out, just a little. "Two, actually." Another moment of pause, his beak clicking as he thought. "For Ritla, there's the standard sign language for speaking while on the ground, and another for flight. I'm fluent in that second one, as most Rito warriors are."</p><p>"Are you admitting to not knowing something?" Link asked.</p><p>As soon as Zelda finished translating, Revali tossed his head back in a mirror of an eye roll; Zelda wondered, not for the first time, if he ever was jealous for the ability to move pupils independently from the head.</p><p>"I'm not going to lie about something that's easily disproven," he said with no small amount of exasperation. "No, I don't know much Ritla sign."</p><p>While she knew that there was yet more sniping to be had between the two, Zelda's own curiosity got the better of her. The Rito were newer allies to the Hylians, and their village more secluded than the other races that made Hyrule their home. Meaning that there was so much to learn and to know about them, it sent a buzz of excitement along her arms.</p><p>"Could you show us some?" she asked, eyes wide and bright. "Of that aerial sign, I mean."</p><p>Revali looked at her and blinked, almost in surprise. She knew that he would never pass on an opportunity to show off what he knew, but it looked as though he was considering it for a moment. And then, he placed his bow to the ground and climbed to his feet, ruffling his feathers before letting them lay flat while shaking out his hands.</p><p>"Of course," he said with a flourish of a hand, and he lifted himself into the air. Only a few feet before he came to a hover. "So say we're in aerial formation, and I see something of importance about twenty degrees to the west of where we're flying. First I have to get the attention of anyone else who's with me in the air." He let out a whistling trill that cut through the air, and left no doubt that it would have been heard at high altitudes.</p><p>He angled to show more of his tail feathers. "You show the direction where you saw it." His tail twitched to the side, angling to about twenty degrees, before it returned to resting position. "The harder part comes in saying what you saw. It's precise timing and feather fanning. Resources." Tail went rod thin. "Monsters or some other threat." Feathers fully fanned out. He paused, and then said, "If you want something specific I'm open to requests."</p><p>"Bokoblin," Link said. Zelda didn't need to translate, as Revali nodded before she could even think to.</p><p>"A bokoblin would be something like..."</p><p>The series of shifts in his tail feathers, which would hold for either one beat or several, reminded Zelda a little of the Morse code some Sheikah scientists used for long distance communication. It was not something she was fluent in, herself, but she was familiar enough in the dots and dashes from all her time spent around the researchers that she recognized the pattern.</p><p>"As you can see," Revali said as he finished and brought himself back to ground, "it isn't really meant for actual conversation. I'm sure you could figure something out, but if you want the real thing you do it either on the ground or when you're flying side by side." He shrugged and leaned down to pick up his bow. "And we don't typically use our talons, just in case we're carrying weapons or otherwise need to at a moment's notice."</p><p>"Seems easier than Hylian sign," Link said. "I bet I could learn it."</p><p>Revali scoffed, feathers puffing up in new indignation. "You can't. Just like I can't do Hylian sign because of your...your eyebrows! You can't do Ritla signs because you don't have feathers." As if to emphasize this point, he twitched the yellow crest feathers that sat over his eyes and could have been mistaken for the Rito equivalent of eyebrows; Zelda should know, she certainly had when she'd first met him.</p><p>Link started on his retort, but before he could Zelda dragged her hands down her face, ready to fling herself onto her back so she didn't have to look at either of them. "I am not acting as the middle man for your petty arguments," she said.</p><p>Not that that would stop them, once they got going. But it was, at the very least, something <em>normal. </em>And thus a welcome distraction from the weight of the world bearing down upon her shoulders.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as with everything i get into i create a wildly elaborate au</p><p>anyway the rito language is basically just the irish language in this au. "ritla" is based on "bearla" which is the word for english (i could have also used ritle as in "gaeilge" but it just looks weird imo). also the rito are more birdlike than in canon, so no eyebrows or ability to roll their eyes or anything</p><p>revali is the youngest of the group at a few months younger than zelda</p><p>anyway find me on tumblr at timelessmulder :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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